Via Audio

Brooklyn quartet Via Audio once again enlist Spoon drummer (and co-producer) Jim Eno to helm the boards on their sophomore LP, Animalore. New band member Tom Deis instantly gels with co-vocalist Jessica Martins, crafting NutraSweet-encrusted melodies, highlighted by the glittery male/female choruses of "Goldrush" and "Summer Stars." Despite Martins and Deis's best attempts to blaze their own path, the guitar swagger of "Tigers," the cool-as-fuck three-step beat of "Hello" and the stutter-y rhythm of "Lizard Song" do little to distance themselves from lazy Spoon comparisons. Before the album closes with the "hands waving like you just don't care" outro of "Happening," Martins begins her long kiss goodnight, delivering gentle, lovelorn anthems "Oh Blah Wee" and "Olga." If you are willing to overlook the band's sometimes pedestrian take on indie pop, Animalore is, at best, an album that contains some of the most carefree and sunny verse/chorus/verse music this side of MGMT.